Random motion detection failures

[mountainhigh]

I have 4 cameras on my system (3 Pros and a Pro2).

For a month or so randomly 2 of the cameras will fail to detect and record motion for 10 to 20 minutes.

This is not a daily occurance but very random in its occurance.

All cameras are on line power and have ben power cycled.

I have checked and the system is on line at the time in question.

Any thoughts?

[ArloProOwner]

Jan 14, 2019

I have been having the same problem with all of my cameras, randomly, but daily!  I have 10 cameras to deal with and sometimes these so called solutions are not actual solutions.  And there's no rhyme or reason to any of these random failures.

[mountainhigh]

This continues to get stranger.

Now all 4 cameras hane different periods of motion sensor failure, but not at the same time.

[JessicaP]

Hi @mountainhigh and @ArloProOwner,

Try to reposition the cameras if you have not and try to optimize the motion detection to make sure it's working properly. You can read the article here on how to optimize the motion detection: How do I optimize motion detection for my Arlo camera?

[ArloProOwner]

Jan 17, 2010

Unfortunately, this has been done so many times that I can't even remember.  There is no rhyme or reason to these random failures.  Every camera has done it and still does it, plugged in and not.  I have one camera that detects all the vehicles going by in the street which is 100 feet away, which I don't mind, because it's plugged in and not wasting the battery.  But sometimes it will not catch a vehicle coming into the yard, or leaving the yard right past the camera.  So again, very unreliable.  Then other cameras, will catch every single sound during the day, and not a vehicle going past it (left to right, or right to left).  I've even zoomed the camera in hoping that would work....sometimes it does, most of the time it doesn't help.  Every single day I am playing with these cameras and the settings, and you can't even say it's hit or miss, because nothing is a sure thing with any of the settings on these cameras, or the system, or whatever it is.  Every day still my cameras and/or base goes off line.....someone suggested to get a UPS backup for the system....I did...it has NOT helped in the least....still going off line.  There are so many issues with this system/cameras, and so much wasted time is spent trying to get them to work.  As I mentioned, there's no sure setting change that fixes them....just when you think a setting change is working....you find out that it didn't.  So my system is absolutely infuriating.  These cameras/system are in no way a dependable reliable security.  Every single day several of the 10 fail capturing something that another may have, or most likely did not.    Sometimes they catch nothing, and I know this because I know when I went past the camera, and I have other brand cameras that do just find capturing things when the Arlo facing in the same direction misses it.    And that Motion Detection setup is a complete useless waste, it shouldn't even be a mode/setting because that's what the Motion detection walking man/running man slider should be for, and that doesn't even work right.  There shouldn't be a mode that conflicts/interferes with another mode/setting.  And on top of that Arlo makes it too difficult to find things, there should not be a both a Mode and a Settings tab at the bottom of the phone screen....it should all be in one setting.....by the time you remember where a particular thing is that you want to change or adjust you forget which camera you're trying to work on.  As mentioned, absolutely infuriating and too much wasted time trying to adjust all the time, when its just not reliable.  And there is no way that Arlo can help with each camera because its their unreliable software in my opinion.  So sending photos or videos of how a camera works or doesn't is a waste of time because I've moved and adjusted every camera several times and there is no absolute solution........Now, maybe for my Base Station continually going off line there is/should be an Arlo solution, but certainly not for the placement of the cameras.  I have other systems that do not go off line like the Arlo Pro Base/System does, those will catch things when the Arlo isn't.

[JessicaP]

If you have been having constant troubles with the motion detection not working or your system going offline frequently, I can have our support team assist you further with the problems you're facing. I'll send you a private message to gather more information from you.

[mountainhigh]

HEY WHAT ABOUT ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I started this thread and am still having problems.

Now I find that there is another camera is recording every now and then with no motion to trigger it.

[JessicaP]

Hi @mountainhigh,

Have you tried to reposition the camera and read the article that I have linked above previously?

[mitbbser]

hi JessicaP, I have been getting similar issues just recently. My post is at

https://community.arlo.com/t5/Arlo-Pro/arlo-pro-sends-motion-alerts-but-no-video/m-p/1671595#M52431

I also had a post on reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/arlo/comments/ahgv5j/arlo_pro_sends_motion_alerts_but_no_video/

Is it possible you ask the support team to help me out? Thank you for the help.

[mountainhigh]

Yes I've tried different angles and understand the view angle issues as described in the manuals and on line.

ALL of that was carefully taken into concideration when placing and adjusting the camera while observing on a tablet.

Today I discovered that no recordings were or are in my library but the device screen shows that the cameras had activity.

One of the camers is on a CVR account and it shows activity during the missing period in the library.

This is becoming increasingly frustrateing.

[mountainhigh]

I just do not believe this.

After reading this forum tonight I reexamined my library.

Low and behold ... with NO CHANGES what so ever the missing recordings appeared.

What is up?

This system is looking like a total waste of my time and money.

I'm 150 miles from a illl patent that I MUST reliably monitor and this system is not providing the reliably we need.

Can anyone recommend a system that really works and can be counted on?

[JessicaP]

Hi @mitbbser,

I can help create a case for you so our support team can help you out. I'll send you a private message to gather more information from you.

Hey @mountainhigh,

Let me have someone from our support team help you with the motion detection failures you're receiving. I'll also send you a private message to gather more information from you so I can help create a case for you.

[ArloProOwner]

Jan 23, 2019 (USA)

What in the hell is Arlo doing?!!!  For the past couple of weeks, the Activity Zone appears for Arlo Pro and Arlo Pro 2 cameras on the iphone app, then it disappears, then it reappears, then it's gone again.  Today it happened again, there were only Activity Zones for the 1080p Arlo Pro cameras, now in the same day, it's back to being accessible to all the cameras, Arlo Pro & Arlo Pro 2 cameras.  I have noticed that sometimes into the Device and the Settings, and hit the Video Settings that some of the cameras views are zoomed all the way into  it's max, so it's very blurry and when you zoom out to regular view you can see that it was zoomed in to the top left corner of the camera…..this has happened on a few of my cameras over the past few weeks since they've been messing with the activity zones.   Very bizarre, and again, leaves the camera ineffective, as with lots of the crap that happens with this system on a daily/hourly basis.

So many flaws with this Arlo Pro camera system.  Here goes what I can think of, and I'm sure I'm going to forget to add several of them, but here it goes, in no particular order: 

• I have 10 Arlo Pro and Arlo Pro2 cameras, and not one of them is reliable even half the time. PATHETIC AND A COMPLETE DISAPPOINTMENT, and as everyone knows, these Arlo Pro/Pro2 cameras are NOT cheap, nor are their rechargeable batteries
• The entire system/cameras work or don't work with no rhyme or reason. There is no one answer that will fix your problem that day, because you think a particular setting or mode change got it to work, and then it doesn't anymore
• most of my cameras do not record for the length of time I have them set to (if they even detect motion at all in the first place), if it's the full 120 seconds, it may only record for 10 seconds, or 30 seconds, or who knows what, sometimes it will work properly, most of the time NOT, and this goes for every single camera I have, not one of them works as it should. The base is constantly going off line several times a day
• Every single one of my cameras is plugged in to electrical power, a couple of indoor ones with the power cord that came with the camera, and the rest are outdoors, and all the cameras inconsistently work and don't work, more so though consistently do not work, yes even the ones plugged in-doors.
• False "incompatible charger detected" comes up several times a day on all cameras plugged in outdoors even with the requested Arlo charger.
• Arlo outdoor weatherproof AC adapter needs to be made longer than 8 feet, or at least more choices, although I see the new Ultra has a magnetic power cord, so I doubt Arlo will be helping Arlo Pro/2 customers with making more choices in accessories. A RELIABLE outdoor weatherproof power cord/adapter is absolutely necessary because these rechargeable batteries do not last and are $50 a pop!
• Activity Zones come and go
• Devices fail to connect constantly several times a day
• The rechargeable batteries do not last more than a year, eventually will not hold a charge
• False detections, motion and audio
• Misses things it should have detected many times a day, therefore not a very reliable "security" camera in the least
• Arlo cannot seem to truly "Solve" any of the issues, it ends up being a temporary fluke that works for a short time at best and Arlo wants to put a "solved" on the issue when it is most likely NOT solved, because I have plenty of issues with things that have been listed as "Solved"
• Too many places to make changes that can conflict with another selection/setting in the mode vs. settings.
• Very unreliable, undependable, system at best, certainly would not recommend for security purposes.
• Sound is lacking on several recordings randomly, when they do decide to record something, usually the sound of wind blowing or a bird chirping.
• Smart detection is practically useless (for me), you need to be able to reset and/or correct the detector when it's wrong.
• Each of my cameras are set up at different levels, distances, etc, and still each camera might work today, then not tomorrow, or I should say this morning, and not later the same day. So it's not the viewing height, distance, side to side movement, yada yada yada, it's the system or camera flaw, because if the height, distance, side to side movement was the reason, then it could be corrected, but it's not true, it may work for the people in the lab who created these programs, but it doesn't work consistently in real life.  I have cameras that pick up cars going " side to side" out at the street that is about 100 feet away from the camera, yet won't pick up something coming into the driveway…Other times cameras will do the complete opposite, none of which consistently work, more like consistently don't work.
• Motion test is a waste, doesn't really work, and should be removed.
• There should be a retrigger time choice so when the camera does stop recording when there is still motion going on, it will automatically restart in another clip, but I'm sure that would be unreliable too if there were such a selection/choice, because none of my cameras consistently or reliable record the amount of time that I have it set for.
• Mostly Records a bunch of nonsense, either as motion, or audio but doesn't detect real movement/audio even around the same time…..it could record every 2 minutes, then miss something that actually happened for a 10 minutes span, and then start recording again after that 10 minutes where it should have caught something, but didn't, then it will start up again and go back to a bunch of nonsense recordings.
• I would love if all of my cameras recorded maximum length clips all day (since they are plugged in to electricity and no depending on the battery), rather than missing something important.
• Not even one of my 10 cameras is reliable on a daily basis, you can always find something that it blatantly missed (several times in a day)